I can't wait for that number in the right to be sub 1000.
Miles Today: 6.5
Mile Marker: 784.9 Glasgow, VA
This morning I woke up ready to go because I knew I would be in town by lunch. On the way in I hiked over the largest foot traffic only bridge on the AT. It spans over the James River and is indeed massive. Right after crossing the river I got to the road crossing I needed to hitch from. Ho Chi Minh was also there. He was trying to get signal to call the hostel and have them pick him up. He asked a guy who had finished fishing if he had service. The guy didn’t, but realized we were both trying to get to town and offered us a ride. His name was Steve, and he wasn’t even going that direction initially. He recently retired and he and his wife have taken up hiking. We chatted about our journey so far and the miserable heat as he took us through town. He drove all the way through so we could see all of the stores and then circled back letting us decide where to be dropped off. The town has three stores and they are all within walking distance. Entirely unnecessary, but incredibly kind of Steve.
The town of Glasgow has a shelter (like we see on the trail) right in the middle of town. They have a shower with hot water, two privies, electrical outlets, room to sleep 12, and plenty of room to camp. The town has basically nothing going on, but them providing this for hikers is an incredible gift. I showered and hand washed my hiking clothes and hung them to dry. I then headed over to the only restaurant in town for lunch. I ordered the garlic bread with cheese and the fettuccine alfredo. It turns out the dinner comes with the same sized order of garlic bread, sans cheese, and a house salad. The entree itself was massive. It was an incredible amount of food. I eat often on the trail, but usually not in that volume. It took quite a bit of time to get my stomach to accept the challenge. Upon finishing I promptly went and took a food agony nap. Once I had regained mobility I grabbed a small resupply and started to pack up.
While I was packing up Little Cheese (now Cheese) and Einstein showed up. They informed me they were working on a slack pack for tomorrow from Buena Vista back to where we are. A shuttle driver would take them north, and then they hike back south to here tomorrow. My plan was to hike more today and then get in to Buena Vista tomorrow evening or Friday morning for a full resupply. However the idea of not hiking today, doing 21 miles tomorrow without gear, and effectively ending up in the same spot sounded great. So now I’m taking the rest of the day easy and will head out with them at 7:30 in the morning. This will be my first slack pack. I’m hoping without the gear I go significantly faster. We’ll spend the nig